A Life to Give
by FanficDetective
Summary: Mario just returned after a long fight against Bowser, only to find an unexpected guest...(Rated K for major character death and creepy imagery. This story takes place in Super Mario World.)
1. Author's Note

Hello,

This is FanficDetective. Don't worry, I am continuing my latest anime fanfiction "Asta's Sick Day", but I figured I would do something a little different. Since Halloween is coming, I thought I would give to you a spooky tale. This idea came after watching a series known as "Creepy Bad Endings" by "whoisthisgit". It was episode 74. In that episode, he mentioned about what would happen when you lose a life in Super Mario World in two-player mode. When one player loses all their lives, you have the option to give him/her a life so that they could continue the adventure. Or...you can leave them there...What a heartless thing to do, huh? But I'm sure siblings teased each other with that gimmick. I know my sister would've done the same. Ha! Anyway, as I was thinking of the implications, this story popped up in my head. I felt a little bad writing it, but oh well! Now it exists!

As you could already guess, this story takes place in Super Mario World. Therefore, not everything after this game is going to be mentioned. Imagine if Mario died in SMW, then there wouldn't be Super Mario Galaxy. Also, there is the head-canon ship Luigi/Peach in this. I couldn't help it. One last thing to mention, I call Peach "Toadstool" mostly in this story, because during the time of SMW she wasn't given the name Peach yet. Still, to keep things simple and clear as possible, I decided to make Peach her first name and Toadstool as her last name.

With all of this said, rest easily everyone! I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a creepy story...or creepypasta, I guess...Then again, I'm not a huge fan so-Okay! Enough rambling! Fanfiction...go!


	2. A Life to Give

**_A Life to Give _**

by FanficDetective

Mario was returning home after rescuing dear Princess Toadstool. He had saved the kingdom and now he was ready to calm down and gather himself. It was a long, grueling adventure. He faced many koopas, goombas, and even some boos along the way. It would've been another fun adventure, if not for what happened to Luigi.

It was in the Valley of Bowser, the Valley Ghost House, where his brother met his end. They were doing so well! They had solved many puzzles, soared high above the boos, collected many coins—Mario should've seen that one boo that was coming for him. He was too busy looking at the coins to notice a boo sneaking up behind him. Luigi took his place and he died in front of him.

Mario sighed. He should've known better; he should've been a better brother. If he had not taken his eyes off those boos, Luigi would've been alive. When he saved the princess, it was a bittersweet victory and he wished that he could've share that heroic moment with his brother. He blinked. He was at his house. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he had made it all the way home. He took out his key and opened the door. His jaw dropped at what he saw before him.

"Oh, hello brother."

Luigi was sitting on the couch with a delighted smile on his face. His body was slightly transparent, and he looked as if nothing had happened to him. Mario's legs were shaking. Could this really be him?

"Luigi," Mario smiled, tears running down his face. "Y-You're here."

The older brother opened his arms and they embraced one another. Luigi felt cold, like the touch of death, but Mario didn't care. This was still his little brother and he wanted to see him again.

"I heard you saved Princess Toadstool," said Luigi.

"I did," sniffled Mario.

"And you defeated Bowser?"

"Yes," Mario said through his joyful sobs. "I did. But, I wouldn't have gotten there without you. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Bowser."

"Yeah," Luigi said. "You couldn't have done it without sacrificing my life…"

The room went silent as Mario took in what his brother had said. Somehow, the air became colder than Luigi's touch. He drew away from his brother, who's pleasant smile has turned into a smirk of satisfaction. Mario nervously swallowed the lump in his throat and cold sweat began to form on his brow.

"What are you talking about, Luigi?" asked Mario.

"Don't pretend that you don't know," Luigi said. "You know what you've done."

Mario shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Must I explain?" Luigi sighed, then he shrugged nonchalantly as he seated himself back on the couch. "Look, bro, for plumbers we are pretty powerful. He have items that helped us on our adventure. Capes, stars, mushrooms…The one power we had that saved us time and time again was the green mushroom. The green mushrooms, once collected, gave us one life to spare."

Mario was shaking. He was starting to remember the mansion they had went into. They were weak and they avoided as many traps as possible.

"We went through some tough battles, Mario. Those enemies have killed us time and time again, yet we always came back with the cost of shortening our lives. When we made it to the Valley Ghost House, I thought we were going to be finally rid of those boos. We were almost to the homestretch. We wanted to get that secret key, so that we could take a shortcut and go directly into Larry's Castle. Bro, we were so close to getting it."

There was regret in Luigi's voice and Mario could see that beyond his brother's smirk was pain. Mario said, "We were close, brother."

"Just when we were going to solve the puzzle," Luigi said, his smile fading to a frown. "A boo came from behind you. I acted without thinking and…the last thing I knew…the one life that I had left was taken from me. I saw my own body drop to the floor and I saw you weeping over me. I watched on as you stood over me and waited…"

Luigi glared at Mario with expectation. Mario didn't know what to do. He didn't know what his little brother wanted. Was he mad that he was killed? Does he blame him for his death? Mario asked as tears fell from his face, "Why? Why did you take my place?"

"I suppose it was brotherly love," sneered Luigi, his grin returning. It was colder, much colder, and his eyes held no sign of a soul left. "Although, I did expect some brotherly love back. I had no more lives left. Do you see now? Do you comprehend what is going on?" Mario stayed silent as Luigi revealed what caused his anguish. "When we both entered the Valley Ghost House, both of us only had one life left. One for you and one for me. We can trade lives to save one another; that was an ability also given to us. When I died, I had no chances left, while you had one."

The room got darker as the cruel realization set into Mario. Yes, he did have one life left, but he didn't give it to his brother. He finally recalled the whole event that had taken place in that mansion. He saw Luigi's dead body lying in front of him and the boo that was heading towards him. He had to decide, to leave his brother here and save the Mushroom Kingdom or to give Luigi his last life. With a final glance, Mario chose to save the kingdom and take back Princess Toadstool, leaving Luigi's body behind. The event was too horrific for him to handle. The guilt was too much for him to bear. Therefore, he subconsciously put the memory in the back of his mind as he made his way to Larry's Castle through the long route. He didn't want to risk looking upon Luigi's corpse again. When the memory came back, fear gripped the plumber's soul, and he shook with anxiety.

"N-No…" he murmured. "I didn't…I wouldn't…"

"But you did. You left me there," said Luigi. Then, he rubbed his hands together in feign thoughtfulness. "You know, brother, you have always been the big shot. I was always the partner, the one that no one remembers. You are the one Toadstool loves and everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom regards you as their hero. Whenever there was trouble around, they called on you. As for me, I watched on with admiration for you. I wanted to be like you; I wanted—just once—to be a hero. Everyone laughs at me. The yoshis, the toads, even Bowser himself laughs at me. I think the princess laughs at me too."

"That's not true!" Mario exclaimed. "We love you, Luigi!"

"Yeah, right," Luigi scoffed. "Love to you is controlling, since you never let me roam the kingdom or do anything on my own. You still see me as weak, as a coward. I thought, with this adventure, I would finally face my fears and come back as somebody. I would be able to tell Toadstool how much I really loved her and show everyone that I could be useful. But that…didn't…happen…"

Luigi said the last sentence slowly as he arose from his seat, his eyes locked into Mario's. A menacing presence was in the air and Mario thought about running away. However, he heard the door shut behind him and he was forced to look at his fearsome brother. Luigi came closer to him and he said through his clenched teeth, "I was ready to be a hero. I was ready for Toadstool's love. It was in my grasp."

"I'm sorry, Luigi!" gasped Mario. "The situation came upon me suddenly and I…I didn't know what to do!"

Luigi made a cackling laugh, one that chilled Mario to the marrow. It reminded him of a boo. Luigi said, half-screaming and half-laughing, "Oh yes! Because the Great Mario needed more time to think of his own glory instead of his youngest brother! He couldn't let Luigi handle Bowser; that would mean giving him one taste of what it's like to be loved by all! Luigi is too much of a coward to be a hero, he's too cowardly to fall in love, and he's too cowardly to show everyone who has ever laughed at him that they were wrong!"

"It was never like that," Mario said. "I just didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't want to lose you."

"So you joined in their laugher at me?!" Luigi yelled and he grabbed Mario's throat. He squeezed as Mario struggled for breath. "Yes, I saw you Mario with them. You laughed with them! I thought you would stand by me, but you never did! You never cared! I was hoping what I saw wasn't true, that it was just my imagination, but you left me to die for a kingdom that has rejected and mocked me. You are no brother. You are a monster!"

"L-L-Luigi…" Mario begged. "L-Let g-g-go."

The green plumber harshly threw him to the floor. Though anger was present in Luigi, there was also glee. Mario shivered as his youngest brother lifted his head with his fingertips. Then, the brother said to him in a voice just above a whisper, "I would tell you, Mario, that I will enact my revenge upon you. After all the suffering you have inflicted on me, you deserve no less. However, that wouldn't be true. I have already had my revenge."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Mario slowly got up. "What did you do?"

"It's simple," Luigi gave a twisted grin. "Remember when you embraced me, Mario, just a moment ago? I don't know if you already know this but…I am dead! I am a ghost with the intent to cause harm. That sounds a lot like a boo, doesn't it?" Luigi cackled again. "Remember this laugh, bro? You heard that out of a boo, didn't you? In short, brother, I am one of them. I am a boo; a soul of unrest. And you embraced me!"

To Mario's horror, he found that the one life he had was gone. Luigi, the little brother he truly loved and cared for, had taken his life. He looked behind him. There was his body lying face-first on the floor without a breath or a heartbeat. He was dead. He stared at his hands and saw that his gloves were as transparent as Luigi's form. It was no wonder he felt cold. He wanted to scream, but he was too scared to utter a sound. Luigi grabbed Mario's hands in fake-sympathy.

"Don't worry," he said. "At least we'll be spending eternity together. If you're wondering about Princess Peach Toadstool, I wouldn't fret about that either. Soon, she'll see your corpse and she'll cry knowing that her one true love died unexpectedly in his home. I would feel bad, if not for her always choosing you over me. It feels good to know that she'll have regrets. Still, I will admit, I am in love with her. I probably won't stand to see her cry for long. Maybe I'll give her a visit too and she'll become my ghostly bride. Whatever the future brings, one thing is for certain, you are never getting away from me. You are in my world now and I can do with you whatever I please. I will torture you for all eternity and make you feel every moment of pain I have ever suffered. There's no game over for you, Mario. Only an eternal bad end to your otherwise triumphant tale."

The red plumber felt his world crumble as Luigi soullessly stared at him. There was no escape; there was nothing he could do. All he could do was weep.


End file.
